Collectors Mike and Kaitlyn Krieger (left) at the “Kinship” opening with gallerist Jessica Silverman who celebrated her 10th art anniversary. July 19, 2018.

Photo: Drew Altizer

A whopping $2.5 million was recently racked up at Hall Winery when Festival Napa Valley hosted its Arts for All gala — in between a week of concerts and top-toque dinners at a riot of excloo Wine Country properties.

Headlined by Tony Award-winning actress Kristin Chenoweth with emcee Liam Mayclem, 200 sybaritic supporters of free music education raised their paddles high in support of local students, spies report.

And they got their money’s worth when 11 vocal students from five Napa County public high school choral groups took the stage and wowed the crowd with the Beyoncé classic “I Was Here.”

“The spirit of generosity exhibited at Arts for All is extraordinary,” enthused Festival founder-CEO Rick Walker. “We’re grateful for such widespread support of the festival and its commitment to enrich lives, inspire youth and unite our community around a shared love of music and the arts.”

Other highlights of this 12-day bacchanalia: an alfresco performance at Meadowood Resort by soprano Nadine Sierra and tenor Jonathan Tetelman. Deep-pocketed patrons raised their glass at Trefethen Family Vineyards for a concert by Grupo Compay Segundo and dinner celebrating the family’s 50th viticultural anniversary. And Shahpar Khaledi and her husband, founding Festival chairman Darioush Khaledi, hosted an intimate Founders Dinner at their Persepolis-inspired wine estate, where they honored first responders who battled last year’s devastating Wine Country fires.

Top 10: To celebrate her 10th artistic anniversary in San Francisco, gallerist Jessica Silverman launched a “monster” group show, “Kinship,” featuring works by such artists as Yoko Ono, John Waters, Lynn Hershman Leeson and Judy Chicago.

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The art world ain’t always an easy business. But Silverman, a California College of the Arts grad, introduced to art by her grandparents — the leading collectors of Fluxus art in America — is thriving.

“Ten years feels great! We work hard to make a positive contribution to the city’s culture by representing 10 museum-worthy California-based and international artists in our concept-driven roster that embraces all artistic media,” she explains.

Beginning with a project space in Dogpatch, Silverman opened her first gallery in 2008 in a small Sutter Street storefront. In 2013, she made a bold move to a wide-open Ellis Street space in the Tenderloin, where she attracts an electric coterie of collectors.

While locavore food is gospel to many Bay Areans, Silverman is also on a mission to infuse that concept into their art purchases.

“I want collectors to learn and understand the virtues of acquiring art by living artists, fresh out of the studio from a gallery near them,” Silverman enthuses. “Fortunately, that’s starting to change.”

BevMo: In this town, there’s an opening party for almost anything — and now that includes good old H2O. And at the recent opening of her first brick-and-mortar Union Street storefront, Hint Water founder-CEO Kara Goldin turned the faucet on high.

Billed as an experiential water bar, customers can sample the unsweetened, zero-calorie liquid’s different flavors, purchase “solids” such as Hint’s new lip balm and other branded products, such as Bluetooth speakers and apparel. Or snap Instagram moments in a photo booth tricked out with a swing.

Supervisor Catherine Stefani (left) and Hint Water founder-CEO Kara Goldin celebrate the grand opening of Goldin’s first store on July 12, 2018.

Photo: Drew Altizer

As we don’t shop much, we’re a bit fuzzy on Goldin’s concept of a “disruptive omni-channel lifestyle brand.” But District 2 Supervisor Catherine Stefani was on hand to present a certificate of honor to Goldin for creating this decidedly only-in-EssEff company.

Hells bells: As you’re buried in a breezy summer read and working on a subtle summer tan, cultural organizers are already dutifully plotting details for the commencement of our fall cultural-social season fondly dubbed Hell Week.

The San Francisco Symphony is first at bat on Sept. 5 at Davies Symphony Hall, where maestro Michael Tilson Thomas will preside over the gala with this organization he’s led to lofty heights.

Starring legendary violinist Itzhak Perlman, gala first-nighters will delight to works by Bach, Gershwin and Liszt with a dash of Hollywood film scores. But opening night is never just about the music — it’s a rollicking hours-long fete, this year led by gala chairs James Hormel and his husband, Michael Nguyen, with honorary chairwoman Dede Wilsey.

Two days later, on Sept. 7, the San Francisco Opera Guild presents “Opera Ball 2018: Viva La Noche!” inspired by the opening production of two one-act operas, PietroMascagni’s “Cavalleria Rusticana” and RuggeroLeoncavallao’s “Pagliacci.”

Led by Ball co-chairs Shannon Cronan and Kathy Huber, with event designer J. Riccardo Benavides, this lavish affair unspools at the Opera House with a cocktail reception, seated dinners and post-performance par-tay.

Victor and Farah Makras (left) with S.F. Opera General Director Matthew Shilvock at their Opera Ball 2018 pre-party on July 2018.

Photo: Catherine Bigelow / Special to The Chronicle

At a pre-sellabration hosted by Farah and Victor Makras, S.F. Opera General Director Matthew Shilvock, then deep in the rousing run of “The Ring” cycle, was excited to embark on his first full season of programming.

“These operas are by different composers but they both present human emotion at its most extreme,” he explained. “Our production ties the two tragedies together. But on the flip side, they’re set in Argentina so you have color, light, energy, passion and tango.”

Huber and Benavides were just back from a scouting trip to Buenos Aires. And while she wouldn’t divulge any soiree secrets, Huber hinted that the McCalls ball menu might contain empanadas.

Catherine Bigelow is a freelance reporter-columnist-blogger who specializes in coverage about boldfaced names and A-List affairs. A fourth-generation Northern Californian, Miss Bigelow first divined her love of San Francisco by reading the dispatches of such classic Chronicle columnists as Pat Steger, Stanton Delaplane, Charles McCabe and Herb Caen. She began her newspaper career at The San Francisco Chronicle in 1995 as an editorial assistant to the features department's editor and columnists. She became a features reporter in 1999 and was assigned the society column in 2004.

Catherine left The Chronicle in 2007 but continues to write features for the paper and a twice-weekly society column.